Software developers rely on application development environments (ADEs) to write code defining the visual appearance and behavior of an application under development. As an example, a developer of an application, such as an Adobe® Flash® or AIR® application, may use an ADE that allows the developer to place media components (e.g., images, movieclips, etc.) on a stage and define a desired visual arrangement of the components, along with changes in the composition and/or position of the components as the application executes.
The ADE can generate suitable code so that when the application is executed or interpreted, the media components are instantiated. Additional code can be defined by the developer (and/or can be automatically generated) to provide the desired changes in composition and position of the components. For example, a scripting language (such as ActionScript®) can be used to define code that causes the application to take an action, such as jumping to a visual arrangement labeled as a frame, in response to an event. The action may be associated with one of the media elements.
As a particular example, one or more media elements may define a button rendered in an initial view of the application. An action can be defined so that, when the button is pressed, the application jumps to a frame in which another media element, such as an image or video clip, is displayed.
The ADE may provide a timeline view showing the various media elements of the application over time. However, the application may be intended to execute non-linearly via the use of scripted actions, and the developer may encounter difficulty identifying and/or defining appropriate labels and scripting elements as the application grows more complex.